Hayden Christensen attended Disney's FYC Fest in Los Angeles on June 2, along with Dave Filoni and Ahsoka co-stars Rosario Dawson and Natasha Liu-Bordizzo.
Hayden and Rosario discussed Episode 5, "Shadow Warrior," which features the reunion between Anakin and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Hayden revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that during a phone call to discuss his appearance in the series, Dave Filoni asked him if he knew about the World Between Worlds. The actor was aware of the mystical realm first introduced during Star Wars Rebels. The idea of Anakin returning through the World Between Worlds excited Hayden, who says it meant a chance to do something different with Anakin than he had previously:
"Anakin, he goes through a lot in his life and in the prequels he’s a very emotional character, but in this, this is a post-life version of the character, so he’s aware of all of those things but he’s not emotionally beholden to those things either, so we could present just a slightly different slant on the character."Hayden Christensen.
A reunion with Ahsoka on-screen meant portraying a version of Anakin from The Clone Wars, something Hayden didn't get to in the past. He says he first heard about Anakin's impressive exploits during that era from George Lucas himself:
"George [Lucas] telling me about the Clone Wars when we were getting ready to do Revenge of the Sith and just filling me in on all the backstory — how Anakin fought in the Clone Wars and he was this great warrior and a decorated general."Hayden Christensen.
Rosario Dawson and Hayden Christensen arrive for an #Ahsoka FYC conversation pic.twitter.com/9lE7z7uJJI
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 2, 2024
Hayden says he was intrigued by George's description of General Anakin Skywalker, especially since he played an emotional version of Anakin during the prequels. This version of Anakin was thoroughly explored during seven seasons of The Clone Wars, but Hayden wasn't a part of it. Matt Lanter voiced Anakin in the series, but Dave Filoni gave Hayden a chance to bring a bit of George Lucas's vision of Clone Wars-era Anakin to life in Ahsoka.
Christensen feels privileged to be allowed to explore Anakin further, and his costar, Rosario Dawson, is equally thrilled for him. Rosario says she loved that Anakin "challenges her to be like, ‘Is that all that I am?’" and adds that their meeting helps Ahsoka let go of the burden she's carried for years.
Ahsoka is streaming on Disney+.